The Noble Man and The Healer
by Desolation Crypt Angel
Summary: A collection of drabbles between the couple Kuchiki ByakuyaxUnohana Retsu,if you want to check a new pairing in the Bleach fandom you're welcome.R
1. Could it be any Harder

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Bleach characters they belong to the amazing mind of Kubo-sensei and even though I'll love to own them I don't so I'll settle with merely borrow them.

**Rating: **'PG'

**Genre: **Drama/Romance.

**Character (s): **Kuchiki Byakuya and Unohana Retsu.

**Pairing (s): **Byakuya+Retsu, ByakuyaxHisana

**Warning (s):**

**1)**Major Occ'ness from Byakuya

**2)**Angst from Retsu past, since I don't know anything about her past I took the liberty to invent something with a friend.

**Dedication: **To Andrea that loves this pairing and made me fell in love with it,she alsoinsisted for me to write this, for you my dear friend.

**Summary: **A small conversation about the pain they both feel due to the loss of someone really dear to them…set two weeks after Hisana's death.

* * *

"_**Could It Be Any Harder"**_

She felt empty and broken, the centre of her universe was now gone and she couldn't do nothing about that more than to try to accept it, but how was she supposed to do so? Now that person was gone she didn't had no reason to effort herself to be better each passing day, she didn't had no one that will be proud for her or that was glad that she was a captain in one of the thirteen divisions. Now she didn't have a reason to go on as such and the best will be for her to leave the duty as a captain because that didn't mean anything to her now.

After all her grandmother Unohana Sunao, that had been her mother, her best friend and her only family member that truly loved her, was now dead and she will never tell her that she was doing a good job as a captain and that she was proud of her, now what was the point to go on if no one else will care.

Is not like Unohana Retsu didn't had a family because she had, the thing was that her family didn't loved her at the contrary they hated her and really she couldn't blame them, after all she had brought shame upon them.

The Unohana name was a well respected and prestigious name between the nobles, maybe not as much as the ones in four royal families, but they were one of the few families with enough nobility in their blood to allow a member of the royal families to wed them and keep the noble blood in their heirs, so it wasn't much of a surprise that some of the members of the Unohana family, specially women, had been part of them and bored noble children.

The actual heads of the house Unohana Tsukasa and his wife Etsuko had four amazing children, Tsubaru, Mieko, Touya and Retsu, from those maybe the most blessed was Retsu, she was beautiful, gentle and wise making her parents really proud of her. Like any other girl in nobility Retsu learned all the feminine activities that will please her husband, his family and their friends and it seemed that she'll turn to be a great wife, the aura between all the family members was harmonious and filled with love it was perfect.

However everything changed one day, it was of common knowledge that it was really rare the occasion when a member of the four royal noble families decided to look for a wife in the other close noble families and when that happened it brought joy and happiness to the family and the chosen woman yet Retsu wasn't that type of woman at all.

It all happened when Retsu turned nine years, by that time the beauty she will grow to have was undeniable and a member of the royal families noticed so and was immediately mesmerized by the young girl, this man talked with Tsukasa and asked for Retsu hand and that he wished to wed her as soon as possible, of course that Tsukasa accepted after all it was a member of the royal families the problem came when Retsu denied to marry, the shame she brought upon her family due to that was great and it was decided that Mieko married instead of her, however her family never forgive her that offence.

That's when she was sent to live with Sunao and the incident was kept as a secret so no one will know the shame she brought upon them, Retsu was truly saddened but her grandmother helped her through those difficult times and gave her all the love that she needed. When Retsu turned fifteen and decided to become a shinigami Sunao was the only one that gave her all the support to keep going and it was thanks to that support that she managed to become a captain, but now that Sunao was gone what was the point to keep going?

The demure and gentle captain of the fourth division stopped, the wind rustled her lose long raven hair and the equally black kimono sleeves, her violet hued orbs looked around the forest, she knew that maybe she needed to return to her head quarters but it had been long since she had a night stroll and she really needed it in that moment besides that if she went to her headquarters she will be showered with questions and she needed time to herself. That forest certainly brought back memories of her first days in the Shinigami School, she had meet Jyuushiro and Shunsui there, the first friends she ever made.

It was in that forest where they had trained and when she noticed that she didn't liked to fight, even though her fighting skills were pretty decent, and she preferred to heal. It was also in that place were Jyuushiro and Shunsui had congratulated her when she became the captain of her division just like them, silently she walked to the small clearing that they often used to relax from their captain duties and merely talk about stuff. She smiled when she noticed that the clearing hadn't changed at all, with a ting of sadness she walked to the powerful oak tree that stood in the centre and placed her hand in the rather smooth trunk, it had been awhile since she had been there.

Under that tree she also had very fond memories of the time she spent with them and it was also there that the met Kuchiki Byakuya, she had never knew that Jyuushiro was a close friend of the captain of the sixth division, of course that he often came and when he did she rarely exchanged words with him mostly from bad memories than dislike to him because she though of him as real good and respectful man, in the end she came to respect and admire him a lot something that Shunsui used to tease her and tell her she was in love with him.

Retsu could still remember the laughs and the smiles they had all shared there, well not all because she had never seen Byakuya laughing nor smiling and it intrigued her a bit, however that was now part of the past cause many thing had changed and fate seemed to have played with them, Jyuushiro illness got worse, Shunsui love for sake grew, Byakuya recently lost his wife and she now had lost her grandmother, it seemed that now they were toys of fate.

Mutely and pained she sat under the oak tree, her eyes looked up at the sky and barely saw the starlit sky, giving up in that task she looked down at the floor and one of her hands moved to her cheeks, the tender skin still stung due to the strong slap her mother had given her when she stepped into her house, if she could cry, if her position as a shinigami allowed her to cry by that moment she'll be crying a river.

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The night breeze felt rather nice that night, it was the first time in two weeks that he came out to his usual night strolls since his young wife passed away, after she died he hadn't feel the will to go out every night and return to a now empty room.

The sudden death of Hisana had been a real strong hit for Byakuya, after all he truly loved her and even broke the rules to wed her, now five years later she dies and he couldn't do anything to help her. He had merely stayed by her side as he watched her fade away each day till finally the flame of her life extinguished and he couldn't do nothing more than watch. It was really ironic that his wife had died on spring when life is supposed to start again but in this case a life had ended and it was the life of the person that he loved.

Kuchiki Byakuya wasn't a man that showed his feelings easily to everyone yet Hisana had been a special case, she had seen what laid behind the mask of cold indifference, something that only Jyuushiro had done, and had made her way through that and into his heart gaining a strong grip on it without even trying to do so. In truth Hisana had been an amazing woman, with a kind personality and good feelings, maybe she wasn't a noble born and that fact had amused him cause for the brief time they had been married she had allowed him to step out of the nobility reality and created a world of their own.

In their brief marriage she had become the centre of his universe and his heart, but now that was gone leaving him empty, maybe Hisana hadn't loved him as he loved her, she had told him so when she was dying but he already knew that, every time he gazed into her strange hued blue eyes he saw admiration, respect and gratitude never he saw the love he longed to see in those eyes yet he had settled with that and had hoped that might change eventually, but it didn't.

Now Hisana had died and had made him promise to look for the sister she couldn't find, to protect her, to giver her his last name, to treat her as his sister and to never let her know she had been her sister, he had promised Hisana that no matter what he will find her sister and take her as his own sister, it was the least he could do for Hisana since he couldn't do nothing to help her while she was ill. By adopting her sister he felt like he will be paying for the time she was with him, for the smiles she bestowed upon him, for the care she showed him, for the respect she had for him and for staying by his side even though she didn't loved him, it will be his way to say thank you to Hisana.

He suddenly stopped when he found himself in the clearing Jyuushiro and Shunsui used to relax from their obvious captain duties, it was in that clearing when he first exchanged words with the captain of the fourth division, it's true that he often showed there with Jyuushiro but Byakuya clearly remembered the laughs and smiles that had filled that place in more happy times, of course that he had never smiled nor laughed but he rather enjoyed to be close to them and see them express the happiness he couldn't express so freely.

But now that he thought about it he had never heard Unohana Retsu laughing he had only see her smiling, amidst that and being the man he was he had found the woman pretty however it intrigued him to finally acknowledge that she had never laughed and that she had barely exchanged words with him at all. Asides the courteous greeting she had barely spoken with him and for a strange reason it bothered him, now that could either be because she didn't liked him or she was utterly shy.

His deep grey orbs fell on the strong oak tree in the middle of the clearing and wasn't that surprised to see that nothing had changed at all since the last time he came to that place. Many things had changed in that time of absence Jyuushiro illness had gotten worse and most of the division responsibilities fell on his lieutenant, Shunsui had taken the sake as his permanent lover, Retsu was busy with her division and he had lost his wife.

"Kuchiki-sama?" A soft and melodically feminine voice called

A bit startled he looked over to the source of the voice, standing besides the tree and with a slender against the tree trunk was Unohana Retsu, she was serenely looking at him, what called his attention was that she was wearing a expensive looking black kimono that fitted her figure perfectly and that her usual braided raven hair fell freely behind her back, except for the silver hairpins that held some strands of her hair in a half bun, it was the first time Byakuya saw Retsu dressed as the noble woman she was and it didn't hurt to admit that she looked rather beautiful.

The captains of the fourth and the sixth division merely stood in silence awaiting for the other to brake the heavy silence that had befallen upon them, Retsu sighed is not like she expected Byakuya to speak with her after all they barely got along yet amidst that she wanted to tell him that she was sorry for the loss of his wife cause she had heard from Jyuushiro that he truly loved her and maybe this was going to be the only chance she will have.

"What are you doing here, Unohana-san?" His deep baritone voice broke the silence in the end.

"I'm taking a small stroll, I didn't felt like returning to my headquarters asides it's such a fresh night that I wanted to walk for awhile" With an elegant motion she leaned against the tree branch and looked down "How about you, Kuchiki-sama?"

For a few instants he had seen pain reflected on her gentle feminine face "I always take night strolls"

"I see" She looked up at the barely visible sky and felt like crying "It's a rather beautiful night, ne?"

"It is" He simply responded and briefly looked up "May I inquire if something happened to you?"

Retsu paled a bit and once again felt sadness course through her system "Hai"

"I assumed so" Byakuya lost his interest in the night sky and turned to look at her "May I know what?"

"Is nothing that important, Kuchiki-sama, just stuff" Mutely she once again sited under the lush grass under the oak tree and sobbed rather softly "Will you keep your stroll, Kuchiki-sama?"

His grey orbs looked down at her and noticed that she was looking back at him with her deep strange hued violet orbs, that strangely he found he liked to stare into them, the violet colour was so different from the blue eyes he had used to stare to "If you don't mind, I'll like to linger here for awhile"

"Ie, you can stay here as long as you wish" She answered and looked down at her hands.

With that said Byakuya moved to sit under tree keeping an appropriate distance from Retsu, not to far but not to close almost arm length, both captains sited in silence. For a strange reason the silence they were now immersed was more comfortable that the first one, for some instants Byakuya remembered the long times he had sited in a comfortable silence with Hisana while she had been alive and it brought him bittersweet memories, for some instants he had wanted to believe that he was once again sitting with Hisana but for a strange reason he couldn't forget that with the person he was sharing that moment was Retsu and not Hisana, stranger was that he even noticed that both women had different scents.

Hisana always had a fresh and young scent that was the mix of spring Iris and white plum blossoms, while she was alive she had also loved those flowers more than everything and it was more than natural that her favourite perfume will be the sweet mix of these types of flowers, Retsu on the other hand had a soothing and mature scent of bellflowers mixed with the spicy citrus scent of ginger making a rather intoxicating scent and that it suited her perfectly, both Hisana and Retsu had been the same age yet they seemed to have different personalities.

Slowly Retsu turned to look at Byakuya only to find him deep in thought, amidst that she could easily tell he was still grieving and suffering the death of his wife, he might hide under that expression of coldness and it might work with others yet she could read his eyes and easily know that he was still pained, after all Sunao had taught her to read other people eyes and she could read his besides she was sharing his same pain, well maybe not exactly but she was.

"Excuse me, Kuchiki-sama?" She lightly called him

He turned to look at her "What is it, Unohana-san?"

"Is just that Jyuushiro told me that your wife died two weeks ago" She was a bit surprised to see for a few seconds the flash of pain in his eyes before it went away "I just wanted to tell you that I think I understand how you feel in this moment"

"You do?" The question came with his coldest tone, he hadn't meant to use that tone with her but it had angered him that she tried to relit ate with his pain "Do tell me Unohana-san, have you lost someone that you loved with all your being, someone that you dared to call your soul mate, someone that once gone left you empty, have you?"

She looked at him a bit sad "Ie, I have never loved as much as you love Lady Hisana and truth be told I hadn't met that person that's supposed to be my soul mate and I don't think I would" She looked down not being able to keep her gaze with his "I don't think that I could match that deep and passionate love that you have for her and I don't want to do so"

He hid his surprise when she said those words, a surprise that came from the mere fact that she had also been able to see through his cold mask of indifference "Then why do you say that you can understand how I feel?"

"Because today my grandmother died, I loved her with all my heart and she was the centre of my universe, everything that I am and that I had done was thanks to her. Now that she has died I feel like if my world had crumbled down on me and I feel more empty and cold that ever, when she died she took my heart and my soul" With utter strength of will she kept her tears inside, after all a shinigami wasn't allowed to cry besides that it will be shameful to weep in front of him "I'm nothing more than an empty shell, that's why I say that I can understand you at least a little bit"

"I see" The anger he felt towards her subsided and he could clearly see the tears that she didn't allow to spill, it was rather strange Retsu had lost her grandmother and he had lost his wife yet he could tell that her pain was greater than his "I'm sorry about your grandmother"

"Arigato, Kuchiki-sama" Her hands fisted against the silk fabric of her black kimono and she lowered her head allowing her dark bangs to cover her eyes "I'm also sorry about the loss of Lady Hisana, forgive me if I made you angry but this was going to be the only chance I'll have to tell you this"

Byakuya gazed at her a bit confused "What do you mean with 'the only chance'?"

"I have decided to leave my charge as the fourth division captain and return to have a normal life" She softly answered

"Don't you care what your family will tell you for that?" He asked

"They don't care whether I die or live, after the shame I brought to the family they hate me and they nor wish to see me" With some melancholy her hand moved to her left cheek, just were her mother had smacked her and then told her how much she hated her and cursed the day she gave birth to her "Even though that hate I'll still assist to my grandmother burial tomorrow, I don't care if my mother smacks me again or if they kick me, I'll be there."

For what he had just tell him, Byakuya concluded that her mother had smacked as soon as she set a feet in the house "May I know, why your family hates you Unohana-san?"

"It's because I denied to marry a member of the royal families, I had just turned nine years and that man fixed his eyes on me, my father was proud of it yet I denied to marry him, so my older sister Mieko married instead" She briefly explained and lowered her hand "My family never forgave me that and kept the secret, they couldn't stand to see me so they sent me to my grandmother house and she took care of me, she was also the only one to support my choice to became a shinigami"

"I do not blame you for not wanting to get married at such a young age and your family doesn't deserve the title of nobility" For a small instance he could comply with that feeling after all his family had also hated him for marrying Hisana "I don't think you should quit to your captain title, I do not think your grandmother will be pleased to see you surrendering to what you achieved"

Retsu mouth went dry and he knew he was right, her grandmother will hate to see she had quitted for such a reason as her passing, Sunao will have never wanted to see her leaving what made her happy. Not being able to keep her tears any longer she cried, it had been so long since the last time she had cried, the last time she had cried was when her family pushed her away, she cried like if her tears will never end. Retsu gasped when she felt Byakuya wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to his chest, not caring about anything she cried against his chest and fisted her hands against his black kimono.

Byakuya hadn't planned on hugging Retsu yet when he saw the tears running down her alabaster cheeks he felt so bad, it was the same effect when Hisana had cried when she hadn't been able to find her sister, it was something that he couldn't help himself from doing besides he didn't liked to see someone as fragile looking as Retsu crying, it had stirred his heart badly and it was the first time he felt his heart react that way since Hisana died.

He let her cry till her eyes grew dry and she was merely sobbing against his chest, in that moment he didn't cared if his clothes had been ruined due to her tears after all he could always replace it, what he cared in that moment, strangely, was to keep holding her slim and fragile form between his arms for awhile longer. She was in the same dilemma, she knew it was odd to be in the arms of a widower and one that she knew still loved his late wife yet she felt safe in his arms and her heart was beating rather fast, if it was for her she will have loved to stay there all night yet she couldn't help but think he was only doing that to maybe remind himself of his passed wife.

With a small sigh she pushed away from him "I'm sorry, Kuchiki-sama, I think I ruined your clothes"

"Do notworry about that" He said with some assurance

"Arigato, Kuchiki-sama" Her violet orbs gazed up at him "I think I only needed to be reminded of what my grandmother taught me"

He was surprised when he found himself smiling at her "You're welcome, Unohana-san"

"Kuchiki-sama" A small blush came to her cheeks when she finally saw him smiling only to see that he looked more handsome with a true smile on his face "I finally saw you smiling…you have a nice smile"

"Is getting colder, Unohana-san, maybe you should return to your headquarters" He neutrally said as he made them stoop up from the grass "And is recommendable for you to rest"

"Hai" Slowly she cleaned her kimono from the green grass blades and looked at him "If I'm allowed I think you should do the same, Kuchiki-sama"

"Aa, I will, Unohana-san" He simply answered.

They gazed into each other eyes for a few moments, Retsu lightly smiled at him and bowed in respect before she walked past him to leave the clearing and to rest, his grey eyes merely watched her till she got lost between the many trees. For the first time since Hisana died he felt at ease and didn't minded that much the fact of returning to an empty room, at least that night that is, mutely he looked up at the sky and now he was able to see the glittering sky and for a strange reason her remembered the last words Hisana had told him…

"_Kuchiki-sama, you're still young and you can take another wife, please do no let my memory stray you from rebuilding your life again, you may still love me but you can also love another woman, don't you ever believe you're betraying my memory cause nothing will do me more happy than to know you can be happy by the side of a woman that will fully return your love" _Hisana smiled up at him and grasped his hand with the last of her strength _"I know that you'll find a woman that will fill your expectations, do not use me as an example as the way to chose your new wife cause not all the women are the same. Please Kuchiki-sama rebuilt your life and be happy; I give you the permission to do so and never feel like if you're betraying me, please be happy once again"_

With a small shook of his head he turned around to walk back to his house, maybe he could still be happy with another woman yet he didn't wanted to look weak in front of the other members of the royal families, he will have to keep his mask and see how fate will lead him in that aspect of his life.

* * *

**Owari.**

Well there you have it, my first drabble of the pairing ByakuyaxRetsu, I don't know how many drabbles this will have, maybe till I get bored, ne? I must also add that this drabbles will vary from romance, to humour and angst also the ratings will also vary they will either be 'G', 'PG', 'PG-13' and 'R' that will depend on my mood, so if you have problem with the 'R' rating I'll leave a warning before so you can avoid it, also the drabbles doesn't have a specific time line cause today I can write this one that's on the past the next one can be Post the Soul society ark and then the other can be after Aizen and his group has his asses severally kicked.

Also you'll know when I'll have a couple officially as an item due to this, example:

**IchigoxRukia:** When you see the names joined by an 'x' it will mean they are an official item, in other words they are a couple.

**Renji+Rukia: **You see the names joined by a '+' it means that they are hinted and they will be a few steps away from being an official couple.

**Orihime/Ichigo: **When you see the names joined by the '/' it means is only a one sided attraction coming from the first person mentioned, in this case will be Orihime.

Well hope that clears some things and that a person that's here with me can stop bugging me.

With that I say goodbye, wait my next drabble, that can come on whether I have an idea or a friend give it. See you and please Review, flames aren't allowed but I can welcome constructive criticism (except from my grammar that I know sucks)

Sayonara Bye, Bye and don't forget to always fight for your dreams.


	2. Punch Drunk Love

**Disclaimer: **Didn't I do this already? Anyway I don't own the Bleach characters, they belong to Kubo-sensei and I'm merely borrowing them to have fun with them.

**Rating: **'PG-13'

**Genre: **Humor/some romance.

**Character(s): **Kuchiki Byakuya, Unohana Retsu, Ukitake Jyuushiro and Kyouraki Shunsui.

**Pairing(s): **ByakuyaxRetsu, slight JyuushiroxSoi and mention of Shunsui+Nanao.

**Warning(s): **

Major Occ'ness from Byakuya.

Maybe Occ'ness from Shunsui and Soi.

Abuse of alcoholic drinks.

Some perverseness.

**Dedication: **To my close friend Robert that came with this idea and we worked on it together, so the credit also goes for him, thank you Robert!

**Summary: **Shunsui has a little much to drink and starts to hit on Retsu and behave like a perfect clone of 'Joey' and 'Miroku' much to Byakuya dislike… (Post Soul Society Ark and the Aizen thingy)

* * *

"**Punch Drunk Love"**

The silver haired captain of the thirteen division silently sat on the engawa that lead to the small garden in the building specially built for the relaxation of the divisions' captains and lieutenants, Yamato thought that after the Aizen affair it will be good for them to have a small space so they could chill and relax before duties once again called them, so that was were Jyuushiro was, sitting in the engawa watching the garden, the grass blades lightly moving against the wind and the sweet fragrance of the many spring blooms.

The atmosphere was so peaceful and soothing that he felt a bit drowsy, well since it seemed everyone was late Jyuushiro decided that it wouldn't be that bad to have a small nap after all Retsu could wake him when she arrived, when he had decided to take his nap he started to chose for the right spot for it however a sharp slap and a familiar wince of pain broke his concentration, he grimaced a bit when he heard the rather familiar voice of an angry Ise Nanao while she screamed at her captain about keeping his hands only to himself.

Jyuushiro slowly stood up when he heard Nanao angry steps walking down the hallway, he wasn't that much surprised when Shunsui opened the rice paper shoji door nor was he surprised when he saw the man with a bottle of sake, it was easy to figure out that Shunsui had got drunk once again and teased Nanao, also it wasn't much of a secret that she felt something for him but his drunken attitude bothered her, Jyuushiro silently sat in front of a wooden table that was in the room and waited for Shunsui to do the same.

"Is it me or Nanao-chan is getting stronger?" A mild drunk Shunsui asked while he sited down and rubbed his right cheek "Because this smack certainly felt much stronger than the ones she usually gives"

Jyuushiro merely shrugged his shoulders "Who knows, maybe she is getting stronger"

"Maybe she is" Shunsui replied a bit worried, if that one had been so strong he didn't wanted to think how the next ones will be, anyhow he loved that seriousness in his feisty lieutenant "I just don't understand why my cute Nanao-chan slaps me that much"

"Have you ever considered that is because of your behavior?" The silver haired captain asked and sighed when he saw the confused look on Shunsui's face "For being a flirt, chasing every beautiful woman you see, for placing your hands where you shouldn't when you're drunk and also for the fact of loving sake"

"Hmph" A lopsided smile came to Shunsui's face when his mind proceeded that information "You know Jyuushiro maybe you're right"

A huge sweat drop appeared in the back of Jyuushiro's head "Aa, I am"

"Well then what I can do?" The captain of the eight division asked

"Err…well…have you ever consider in getting to know her before you throw yourself at her" Jyuushiro suggested and he wanted to fell backwards to the floor when he gave him a look that clearly stated that he didn't understood what he had just say "What I mean is to become friends first? That way you will get to know each other and you'll know what kind of things she likes so you can start a proper courting, if you start as friends first you can built a more solid foundation and you can have more success in having a rather healthy relationship"

"Be friends, first?" Shunsui rested one of his hands under his chin and saw Jyuushiro nodding, he pondered on that for awhile "I really don't think that can work"

"It works and we have even saw some examples of that" The thirteen captain affirmed and slumped his shoulders when his friend looked over at him a bit oddly at his affirmation "Look we have Ichigo and Rukia they started as friends first and then we have Toushiro and Momo, they were friends for a long time before finally getting into a relationship"

"Jyuushiro" The captain of the eight division had a real serious frown on his face, but it didn't lasted long before he grinned a bit stupidly "You're right, being friends for a long time is the best choice"

"Yes, it is" Another sweat drop appeared in the back of the silver haired man when he saw Shunsui practically drinking the bottle of sake completely in one swipe "You should also stop drinking that much"

Whether Shunsui heard those words Jyuushiro will never know nor did he knew how much of a havoc his little piece of advice will cause, he should had specified whom Shunsui should start that friendship instead of almost letting it sound as if he should start a relationship with the first female friend he saw, of course maybe that was the fault of the sake because Shunsui had his mind to fogged as to really understand Jyuushiro advice.

The shoji door slid open again and the captain of the sixth division and the twenty-eight heir of the Kuchiki family stepped inside, he cocked one eyebrow when he saw Shunsui still drinking, after he shook his black head he turned to look at Jyuushiro.

"Hey Byakuya" The thirteen captain greeted, he cocked an eyebrow when his hazel orbs noticed the absence of his long friend "Where is Retsu?"

Byakuya rolled his eyes in annoyance "Your third set intercepted her and kidnapped her so they could speak"

"Ohh…I see" Jyuushiro simply scratched his head, he knew how that could be and that it bothered the sixth division captain "Well is not like you're going to die if you're separated from her for a few minutes"

"You better keep your mouth closed, Jyuushiro" The grey eyed man spatted angrily.

"Don't need to get angry and chop my head off, geez since when you became so possessive" Jyuushiro stood up and walked to his friend "Anyway let's see if we can save Retsu from her"

"If I'm lucky she'll entertain herself with you and leave her alone" Byakuya crossed his arms in front of his chest "After all she's crazy about you"

"Do not remind me so, Soi is not happy about that" The silver haired man opened the second door that was on the right side "We will be back soon, Shunsui"

Shunsui, having stopped drinking from his sake bottle, looked up at them "Yeah, sure"

Both captains stared at the heavy drunk man and after some minutes of hesitation decided that Shunsui will be alright by himself and that Retsu was in more need of help, so Byakuya and Jyuushiro left him there. Once alone Shunsui started to once again ponder on the really useful advice Jyuushiro had gave him, well he did had female friends, maybe not as plenty as he will like to have but he did and they were rather pretty, well he wouldn't lose nothing if he tried that.

"Hello Shunsui" A sweet and musical voice greeted

The alluded captain looked up and saw Retsu closing the front shoji door, the captain of the fourth division elegantly and swiftly made her way to the table and sat in front of him, the woman sighed and lightly smiled at him, Shunsui mind started to process the advice Jyuushiro gave him before while he watched her, well Retsu had been his friend for a long time and she knew him fairly well and he knew her, Retsu knew his likings and he knew hers.

Well that was the perfect chance, Retsu was his friend and he was hers, she knew his likings and she knew his, they had a long friendship and had built a proper solid foundation, besides that Retsu was really beautiful, so that did it, in his alcohol fogged mind he decided that they were ready for the courting part.

In the other hand, Retsu was happy that she had been able to politely slip from Kiyone, that blond woman really liked to talk and is not like she minded but it had started to irritate her but being the polite woman she was, well she decided to hear to whatever she had to say and that had been her mistake, thanks to the gods her lieutenant and Kiyone's sister appeared and the blond attention fell to her sister. The gentle captain of the fourth division looked up at her friend, she lightly tilted her head to her right side when she noticed the rather flirting smile and look he was giving her, it unnerved her a bit and it reminded her of the first time they met and he had immediately started to flirt with her, when the look didn't left she decided to check the ground.

"What's up, Shunsui?" She smiled nervously and a bit disturbed.

The captain of the eight division tilted his sake bottle a bit and flashed his best coquettish smile and looked at her like if she was a goddess "How you doing?"

Retsu paled and her mouth went dry, had Shunsui just used his line to pick up girls? When she stared into his face she stayed without a doubt that he indeed had, a sweat drop appeared at the back of her head and she smiled more nervously when he moved a bit closer to her.

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Byakuya and Jyuushiro had just found Kiyone but she was happily talking with her oldersister and Retsu's lieutenant Isane Kotetsu, since Jyuushiro didn't wanted to be caught by her and have problems with Soi later on, he sent Byakuya to ask where Retsu was, which had been a bad idea cause Kotetsu started to babble about showing him the proper respect, in the end after many troubles and idiot babbling Kiyone finally told Byakuya that Retsu had politely excused and left to who knows where.

"Maybe she's with Sajin, you know that they had been friends for a long time as well" Jyuushiro commented when he saw the rather angry expression on his friend face.

"That could be, but Sajin is not here" Byakuya stated a bit coldly and frowned "Another idea"

"Well if you're so smart, where do you think she is?" The silver haired man asked a bit angry.

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you" Byakuya answered

"Well I don't have the most remote idea" Jyuushiro lazily leaned against one of the aisle walls and looked at him "In other circumstances we will find her with Aizen"

Byakuya coldly and heatedly glared at him "Don't you ever mention that name in front of me again!"

"Ara, Ara, it seems that you still held a grudge against him and not only because he betrayed Soul Society but also because he was attracted to Retsu" A light chuckle escaped Jyuushiro when Byakuya's glare intensified "Even though it was only one-sided attraction you were so irritated when you saw them together and it took you that to realize that you…"

"Enough" Byakuya angrily stopped what he was saying and spun around "We should look for Retsu"

"Those were crazy times you even let a hollow attack you so she could attend you and you could use that chance to…" Jyuushiro's words died on his mouth when he saw the intense cold and hating glare in the grey orbs "Let's go look for her then"

"For Kami's Sake!" A rather familiar voice yelped in surprise.

Jyuushiro cocked an eyebrow "Was that Retsu?"

"Yes, it was her" Byakuya simply answered "It came from…"

Both men widened their eyes open and quickly moved to the room they had left Shunsui a few minutes ago, Jyuushiro slid the shoji open, a sweat drop appeared in the back of his head while a cold frown appeared on Byakuya's face. Shunsui was face first on the floor with part of his body on the wooden table while Retsu was away from him almost sited in the engawa with her knees raised, her hands on the engawa and a shook of sudden surprise and confusion on her violet eyes. All seemed to indicate that Shunsui had launched towards Retsu and she had quickly moved backwards.

"Ouch" Shunsui moved to move off the table to sited on the spot Retsu had been before and rubbed his nose "That hurts"

"What the hell is happening here?" Byakuya quickly and silently moved to stand besides Retsu, she looked at him a bit surprised and he simply extended a hand at her "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am" She took his hand and he helped her up, her violet eyes then moved to Jyuushiro "Hello"

"Hey there Retsu" The thirteen captain greeted his long time friend and slid the shoji closed "How have you been?"

"She has been fine" Byakuya answered instead of her, his grey eyes moved from Retsu to Shunsui to her again "What happened?"

"You see, Shunsui here thought that he should share his sake with me but I politely denied he insisted and he well moved closer to me to give me a sip" Retsu quickly lied not feeling really good about it but she couldn't well tell what had really happened "But he slipped and since I didn't wanted him to fell over me I moved away"

Byakuya stared into her violet eyes and tried to see if she was lying "Fine, I'll trust your words" Mutely he let go of her hand and walked into the engawa.

"Well Shunsui you'll never learn your lesson" Jyuushiro said a bit exasperated, the captain of the eight division had tried to make Retsu drink sake again without any success "You won't get no one else to be as addicted to sake like you and…"

"Oi, kawaii Retsu-chan!" The drunken voice of Shunsui exclaimed "You're so kind with me"

"What the…?" Retsu exclaimed

Jyuushiro eyes widen open "For Kami's sake!"

Rather slowly Byakuya turned around, it would have been better if he didn't, and a very hateful and angry expression came to his face. Jyuushiro had an expression of pure shock as well, Shunsui apparently had once again launched towards Retsu again, the captain of the eight division was in his knees, his arms wrapped around her waist and his face was nestled a bit on her stomach, Retsu was in total shock as well and her body tensed when he started to rub his cheek on her stomach.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jyuushiro was the first one to react to the shock "Shunsui!"

Shunsui stopped and smiled "I'm courting"

"WHAT?" The other three exclaimed

"Yes, I'm following your advice" Shunsui stood up quickly to fully embrace Retsu "You smell good"

In a blink Byakuya was in front of Jyuushiro holding him from the neck of his hakama "What the hell does he means?"

"You see I told him that instead of following Nanao around and bother her, well he should start to know her become friends and built a proper foundation for a relationship" Jyuushiro answered rather softly and sighed in relief when Byakuya let go of him "Apparently he understood my advice wrongly and he might believe that he should start something with one of his existing female friends"

"Oh My God!" Retsu angrily exclaimed and quickly disentangled from his embrace to move away causing Byakuya and Jyuushiro to look at her "Don't you do that!"

"But Retsu-chan" Shunsui said a bit stupidly and walked a bit closer to her "What's wrong with giving me a small tiny little kiss?"

Byakuya felt more anger boiling in his system "You tried to kiss her?"

"Aa is not improper to kiss your future girl" Shunsui stood besides her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders "Especially someone as cute as Retsu-chan"

"Shunsui, I think it will be wiser of you let Retsu go" Jyuushiro tried to reason with his heavy drunk friend when he saw that Byakuya was close to lose his patient '_If he doesn't let go of her now Byakuya will kill him'_

"You think so" Shunsui replied and his arm suddenly moved down her back and gripped her ass "Nice"

"You Pervert!" Retsu quickly moved away and slapped him "Keep your hands to yourself"

That broke the dam of Byakuya's patience "That did it!"

Soi knew she was late but duty has called her and so she had to go kick some hollows arses, she just hoped that Jyuushiro hadn't been trapped by Kiyone, sometimes she wondered why she didn't gave that woman a piece of her mind after all she was treating with her man anyway she had decided that if this time she was with him well she'll have to kick her ass as well.

The dark haired woman was only a few steps away from the usual room they used to reunite when the shoji door slid open and she saw a real enraged Byakuya coming out and possessively clasping the hand of a stressful looking Retsu, both captains walked past her and got lost in the corner, well that had been rather odd, shrugging her shoulders she walked to the room and a huge sweat drop appeared on the back of her head when she saw Shunsui unconscious in the wooden floor, mutely her coal hued orbs gazed at Jyuushiro that was simply sighing.

"Jyuu-kun, what happened here?" Soi dared to ask

"Shunsui tried to start something with Retsu" He simply answered

"Did he?" She shook her head in annoyance and walked closer to her lover "Was he heavily drunk again?"

"Yes, he was" Silently he wrapped his arms around her shoulders "It seems that he forgot Byakuya and Retsu have a relationship now"

"How could he? They had been together for a long while, ne?" She asked and smiled when he nodded "Anyway, do you want to go have a walk with me?"

Jyuushiro smiled down at her "Sure, let's go"

Silently they left the room and Jyuushiro closed the door behind them, well at least he was sure that Shunsui was going to be alright by himself, after Byakuya jealous version left him unconscious, and he could enjoy more time with Soi. Maybe when Shunsui woke up he could really explain him what his advice had meant, right now he will leave it that way.

* * *

**Owari.**

Well here was the second drabble, maybe it had them really out of character but hey this is fiction and we can do that yet I hope you had liked this in the end(Plus I wanted to see Byakuya jealous for once), please review and wait for the next one.

Once again flames aren't accepted if you want to flame don't bother to got to the review button, constructive criticism is welcome, there's a lot of difference between those. Wait for my next drabble.

If you want to see Jyuushiro with Nemu as well let me know.

See you next time and don't forget to always see the bright side of life and find joy in the small things it has to offer.


	3. From Woman to Woman

**Disclaimer: **-rolls eyes- Do I have to say this again? Well you know that I don't own the characters, I'm borrowing to later give them back.

**Rating: **'PG'

**Genre: **General/Drama

**Character(s): **Unohana Retsu and Fong Soi.

**Pairing(s): **Byakuya+Retsu and Jyuushiro+Soi, mention of ByakuyaxHisana.

**Warning (s):**

-Slight spoilers of Yoruichi

-Occ'ness.

-Sadness, well at least my friend cried at some point.

**Dedication: **To my friend Miko Aya (her nickname) she requested for this and the pairing JyuushiroxSoi yet again, so my friend here it is.

**Summary: **(Two parts drabble) Soi and Retsu had a small talk about how things have changed and their possible love lives (Girls pov)…

* * *

**Part One:**

"**From Woman to Woman"**

The sunlight beams barely made their way inside the heavy roof of deep green leaves in the huge forest, which was a bit of a relief due to the strength the solar disk had that summer and being in the shadowed and rather fresh forest was a great relief for the shinigamis and the future shinigamis. The over heated sunlight had caused everyone to seek refuge on fresh shadowed spaces, even the classes had been canceled that day and the only ones in activity were the few shinigamis that were called to exterminate some hollows, so the free ones and the trainees were free to do as they pleased.

And that was what Fong Soi was doing, not being the type of woman to slack off and merely be happy with the free time, the captain of the second division had decided to use that undefined free time to practice a bit in her Shupko and what a better place than the forest. In an invisible blur Soi made her way through the forest, even though she was getting fairly accurate and fast she still needed to practice more still and was still far from the level Shihouin Yoruichi used to have.

Feeling a bit breathless due to training non-stop for at least six hours already Soi decided to stop in the branch of the next tree she saw, mutely the short captain of the second division sited down on the tree branch and stared up at the clear blue sky, is not that she hated summer but it wasn't her favorite station she hated how hot could it get, moving her hand up she cleaned the sweat that was in her frown and looked down.

A small and discrete smile came to the rather pretty face of Soi when she saw Unohana Retsu walking towards the very same tree she was using to rest, the gentle and demure captain of the fourth division had became her closest friend since Retsu became a division captain a bit after Jyuushiro. Both women had also got along with Yoruichi, after all being the only females captains meant something and they had quickly started a friendship, of course maintaining the obvious responsibilities and the friendship asides so it wouldn't interfere with their work.

Both women had a different meaning for Soi, first Yoruichi had been her role model and the person she admired, the example she wanted to follow to be a perfect captain, it had been like that since she met her when she was a small girl and she wished to be like her then the first division captain had became one of her closest friends. Retsu on the other hand also was her role model, a secretive role model, because Soi admired the elegance and gentleness that seemed to be just plain natural on her, she also admired how Retsu could read people and always have a smile on her face when someone insulted her division, at contrary of Yoruichi that had been her role model to the perfect captain and warrior, Retsu was her example to be a gentle, kind yet strong woman. In other words Soi admired the best qualities of each of her friends and wished to adopt them.

Soi raised an eyebrow when she finally seemed to notice that Retsu was wearing a light black summer yucata, she had a middle sized bento box in her left hand and a small bottle of what obviously was a liquid container in her right one, that was rather odd was she planning on meeting with someone, sure Soi knew how close she was to Jyuushiro and Shunsui yet she had been sure that they were in their respective headquarters then what she was doing there, was she meeting with someone else? Retsu stopped under her tree and looked up at her, the strange hued violet eyes of her friend fell on her.

"I supposed that you might be hungry" Retsu said rather softly and smiled "Since you haven't eaten since this morning I decided to bring something and maybe have lunch together"

"Hai, that will be great" In a blink Soi was besides Retsu and allowed a smile to come to her face as well "How did you know I was here?"

"I asked and then I followed your spiritual energy" Retsu moved to sit neatly under the tree that gave a really cozy shadow and was secluded enough so they could talk in peace "I was told you have been here almost all day"

"Yes, I decided to use this short free time for something useful" The shorter woman moved to sit besides her friend and sighed "How about you? What have you been doing?"

"Nothing much" The fourth division captain placed the bento box in front of them and the bottle besides it, a small sigh escaped her lips "The only problem I had was with the eleventh division again, some members of that division started to pick on some of my own, so I have decided to take the members of my division that were uncharged with the maintenance away from their headquarters for awhile"

"That's good that will show them to at least behave properly"Soi crossed her arms in front of her chest and frowned"Is not like if I have something against Kenpachi but the ego of his subordinates is to big and they dare to believe that only because of their captain they are the greatest division of all, he should teach them to respect your division cause after all you heal them when they sometimes stupidly fight with a hollow higher from their level"

"I know, I don't have nothing against Kenpachi-sama after all he was able to become a captain even though he didn't had Shi Kai and Ban Kai, so I don't doubt his abilities yet I also think he should teach some manners and modesty to their subordinates" Retsu wasn't the type of woman to talk bad about another captain even though they may deserve it "You think I should wait for them to apologize?"

Soi lightly smiled, it had been a long time since Retsu asked for her opinion in such a topic "I think you should, even thought I doubt they will do it willingly"

"You know what, let's forget about that" The fourth division captain said rather softly and stretched a bit "Well let's eat, ne?"

"Alright, let's eat" Soi moved forward and opened the bento box, the scent of the food was delicious as always and she separated the two sections of the box "Did you made this, Retsu?"

"Of course" Retsu handed her a pair of chopsticks and smiled "Since I didn't had nothing to do and it had been a long time since we last had a sort of picnic well I decided to do this"

"I believe you're right" Soi looked down at the delicious looking food, which was other thing that she wished to have from Retsu: Her amazing cooking skills, "What did you brought to drink?"

Amazingly Retsu also handed her a small cup "Only our favorite tea, since we don't like sake"

"Okay, thanks for the food" Trying to keep her modals Soi took a bit of the food with her chopsticks and proceeded to eat it "Kami, Retsu this tastes great like always"

"Thank you, Soi" The fourth division captain thanked rather happily.

Both women decided to merely eat enjoying the fresh temperature, the shadow and the song of the birds, they were lucky that place was bit secluded and no one will come to disturb them, Retsu had been right when she told Soi that it had been quite awhile since they had spend time alone as mere friends, so you could say this was a gold chance that shouldn't be wasted.

After they had finished their lunch, Soi waited a few minutes before she decided to show Retsu her seemed improvement in her Shupko, the violet eyed woman didn't seemed to mind and so allowed her to do as she wished. Indeed that was a good chance after all while he showed Retsu her improvement Soi could also practice at the same time, while she showed her advances, trying to stay close to the place Retsu was, she momentarily lost concentration and couldn't avoid a stick, a bit angrily she stopped and ended right in front of Retsu.

"You have improved a lot Soi, I don't think I could ever have such a Shupko" Retsu lightly smiled and placed her hand against Soi cheek to heal the small scratch she had there "Yet you need to maintain your concentration"

"I know, I simply spaced out for awhile" Soi looked down and sighed "I think I can improve more yet"

"Of course you can and if it helps you I'm quite proud of you for the major improvement you had since the last time I saw you" Retsu praised in an attempt to cheer her friend up and it seemed to work cause she looked up at her "You, Yamato-sama and Kuchiki-sama, are the fastest in Soul Society"

Soi sadly smiled at her "Yes, I suppose we are. But if Yoruichi was still here nor Kuchiki or me will stand a chance against her"

"Do you really think so?" Retsu asked

"Of course I do, nor Kuchiki or me were able to caught Yoruichi when we played" Soi simply stated and slumped her shoulders "Even though it was a game it was also training"

"I'm still saddened about Yoruichi's departure as well, she was the one that told me that I could be a shinigami and she was also a close friend" A sad smile also appeared on her face "Without those words I wouldn't be here, but maybe you're more saddened than me, Soi"

"Retsu, do you think Yoruichi is still alive?" Soi asked with a tinge of sorrow

The fourth captain looked at Soi a bit surprised, since Yoruichi left fifty eight years ago they had never spoken about that possibility "I really don't know Soi" She finally answered and looked up at the leaves "Yet I hope and trust that she's not and that we will see her again"

"I hope the same" Soi gazed at her friend for a few moments and then remembered what she had wanted to ask her for awhile now "May I ask you something Retsu?"

"But of course you can, Soi" Retsu lowered her face and looked at her

"You know there had been these rumors surrounding Kuchiki and you, almost everyone in Soul Society is talking about that" Soi said an bit softly and noticed the confused look Retsu was giving her "According to some people a shinigami saw you awhile ago, talking rather comfortably and growing close to each other more than needed, people is starting to think that something is going on between you and they even say that now that Hisana died you can bribe him and became the next Kuchiki lady"

"And I suppose you want to know about my real relation with him?" Retsu finished for her, she knew Soi will never believe that she will do something like that but she had indeed noticed that they had started to talk more "Look there's nothing going on between us, we merely speak because we share a same pain after all we both lost the centre of our universe and we need someone to talk to, is not my goal to have him marry me"

"I supposed so, you're not the type of woman of taking advance of someone like that" Soi strongly stated and silently promised to find who had started those rumors "Also I don't think that is your goal to marry with someone of the royal families"

"At least not after the fiasco I had when I was nine, but if my heart leads me to that I'm no one to oppose to my heart desires" Retsu leaned against the tree trunk and lightly smiled "Talking about heart desires, have you spoken with Jyuushiro already?"

"No, I haven't" The second captain answered rather quickly.

Retsu couldn't help but smile as she saw the rather light blush on Soi cheeks and that was indeed a hard thing to manage even to her, yet Retsu knew she had hit a soft spot in Soi. It wasn't a secret to Retsu that Soi was in love with the captain of the thirteen division, in a way it had been Retsu's fault because she had introduced them to each other. Jyuushiro charisma, his polite attitude and his concern for the well being of others had immediately drawn Soi, it was the first time she saw a man act that way and it had enchanted her.

When Soi had confessed to Retsu that she felt something for him, she had been indeed surprised yet didn't blamed her after all Jyuushiro was fair popular amidst the female population, heck even her had felt a small something for him yet that evolved into a real close friendship and that was all, instead she had decided to help Soi with him yet she couldn't do much if Soi didn't spoke with him.

"How am I supposed to help you if you don't speak with him?" Retsu asked curiously

"You know that I have tried to speak with him, but every time he's close to me I black out and I merely walk past him" Soi answered in a real desperate and kind helplessly tone "I can't believe I'm such a coward in this matters of the heart"

"Do not worry, almost all the women are and mostly we like him to give the first step" Retsu's hands moved to lightly play with the tip of her braid "If it helps you I can tell you what he thinks of you?"

"Has he spoken to you of me?" The second captain asked surprised and felt a bit nervous when her friend actually nodded "What did he said of me?"

"Well he told me really good things about you, he thinks you're a great woman and very brave, he admires you're strength and wishes to grow with your skills, he also thinks you're a great and strong willed captain" Retsu lightly smiled when she noticed the expression on Soi's face "He also believes that you're quite beautiful, he also thinks is very feminine that you're still shy and that you shouldn't be shy around him, that you can speak with him when you wish to and that you don't need to walk away. He also said that he will be very happy if you spoke with him because he likes you"

"Did he really say that?" Soi locked her eyes with Retsu eyes and knew she wasn't lying, another blush came to her cheeks, as rough as her personality was she was still a woman in the end, with the same secret dreams a woman had "He likes me"

"Hai, that's why you should talk with him" Retsu looked down at the floor "Maybe you can invite him to the 'Kineki' night and watch the fireworks together"

Soi leaned against the tree trunk as well "Do you think he will accept?"

"Of course, he will accept" Retsu assured "We can go in group and then we can tactically leave you alone"

"Alright then, I'll invite him" Soi finally declared and looked at Retsu "But who shall be going with us?"

Retsu pondered on that for awhile "Well Shunsui is obvious that he will come and he will drag Nanao-san with him, Kaien, I believe that Aizen will come as well and then maybe Kuchiki-sama and his sister"

"I see, a well sized group" Soi's coal eyes gazed at Retsu carefully "I wonder Retsu, are starting to feel something for Kuchiki?"

The gentle raven haired woman was taken by surprise with that question; Retsu never thought someone will actually ask her that, well at least not that soon, her violet eyes concentrated on the grass blades as she considered that question. Well Byakuya had a lot of good treats, he was a smart man, considered, well mannered and he talked almost freely with her, even though he showed a cold and dark expression of seemingly not bothering to care about others yet she knew that deep inside he did cared but he wasn't that free to show so.

Retsu understood why he kept that mask; that mask of coldness was to merely protect himself and his feelings, maybe he was afraid to show his care for others and that person will be cruelly taken away from him like Hisana had, also that was another factor Byakuya still loved Hisana with a passion that she could not dare to imagine and she didn't had any right to earn that kind of place on his heart, she was no one to molest the tight grip Hisana still had in his heart, she was merely someone he talked to that fully understood him.

Yet even amidst her wishes, Retsu's heart had started to feel something for him, it wasn't love but she knew that maybe it will turn into that eventually after all how couldn't she came to love someone as Byakuya? That love will indeed be a selfish desire from her part and will taint the love he still had for Hisana, she wasn't that type of woman and also didn't wanted to be a replacement.

"I'm not sure yet" Retsu bitterly smiled and looked up at her friend "But even if I did it wouldn't mean anything"

"What do you mean with that?" Soi dared to ask.

"Kuchiki-sama still loves Hisana, he loves her with a passion I cannot quite imagine and he will never stop loving her, that was proved when he adopted Rukia, after all she looks like her" Retsu let a rather pathetic sigh escape her lips "Even if I came to love him and he accepted me, my heart wouldn't be able to stand being compared to her all the time and I wouldn't stand hearing him say 'Hisana was this and she did this', if we were to wed and have children it will pain me to maybe hear him say 'How will be if this child was mine and Hisana's?', no if that's what awaits me by loving him I prefer not to"

Soi instantly felt a surge of pity for her friend yet she knew it was truth; Byakuya might compare each woman in his life to her and wish for Hisana to be in their places, also that explained why he had adopted a poor ryoka into his family and as his sister "Retsu, what if you indeed fell in love with him? After all you cannot fight with your heart"

"If I indeed came to love him then I'll keep that to myself and never let him know about it, after all I'll prefer that as to live a life of comparison with the life he could had with her" A hint of sorrow marred her voice and she gazed up "After all I don't think I'll have much of a chance with him"

"Perhaps" Soi moved away from the trunk "But wouldn't that keep you from building your life?"

"Ie, if I was presented with the chance to marry a good man that loves me even though he's not noble, I'll wed him" Retsu answered.

"I can't never cease to admire you" Soi commented more to herself than to Retsu, that was now looking at her in confusion "If I couldn't marry with the man I truly love I would prefer to stay unmarried"

"Not all the women think alike" Retsu smiled and also moved away from the trunk "Well how about if we return; you have trained enough for one day"

"You're right" Soi took the now empty bento box and smiled "After all something tells me, tomorrow will be the same"

Retsu took the tea container and looked up "I believe the same"

Without any more words they left that place, Soi knew that Retsu was now down about their conversation and she didn't wanted to be alone nor Soi wanted to leave her by herself. It was ironic that Soi, that was the total opposite to the gentle and elegant feminine air Retsu had, was going to have a brighter future in her love life, Soi could only hope that fate bestowed the same on her and if Byakuya to be the man for her, Soi could only hope for him to truly love Retsu and maybe if he didn't forget about Hisana, to love Retsu as whom she truly was.

Retsu's voice snapped Soi out of her reverie and after assuring her that everything was okay, they kept their way towards the headquarters of the second division and maybe there had a more happy talk.

* * *

**Owari.**

Well my third drabble, now I have started to like the JyuushiroxSoi thing, (yet still open for the JyuushiroxNemu thing if I'm asked to do so) anyway thanks to the people that had kindly reviewed this.

Wait for my next drabble that will be the continuation of this one.

Please review and no flames accepted only constructive criticism.

See you next time and don't forget to always have a smile on your face because you don't know who shall fell in love with it.


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